


to find a home

by CyberPhoenix



Series: THSC Rave Week 2021 [2]
Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Henry's only mentioned but he's around, M/M, Rave dads :], referenced past coppersuave if you squint? not elaborated on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29150076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberPhoenix/pseuds/CyberPhoenix
Summary: It takes a while to get used to belonging somewhere.It takes only a moment to know you never truly did.Trust is a difficult thing.Rave Week 2021 - Day 2 - Family
Relationships: Randy Radman/Terrence Suave
Series: THSC Rave Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137257
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	to find a home

Family was something you chose, not who you were born with. That was what Terrence had always preached, from the day he ran away in the middle of high school, through the day he came back, resigned to whatever came next. From the day he moved out to live with friends, through the day that they too kicked him to the curb when he couldn’t keep a job. From the day some old pals he’d left behind rung him up, through the day he found himself joining the Toppat clan on what could only really be called a reckless whim. 

_A slight nod of recognition, a quick embrace in a dark alley, fingers tapping quickly to type in a longer lasting line of contact to each other.  
This wouldn’t be the end, he was sure of it-- it was a promise. A promise to reunite. _

Family was important. They were the people who would stick by you, no matter what, and would be there to help you out when times got tough. And oh, how times continued to get tough for him. Heists with the clan were one of the first times in a long while that Terrence let himself rely on others and put his trust that they’d keep him safe-- such bonds were necessary in this sort of new life he was given. Couldn’t let yourself second-guess an ally if it meant you weren’t ducking out of the line of fire, after all.

_Soft murmurings of good morning, yawns held a bit too long, the sun gently filtering through the blinds shut just not tight enough.  
Things were better now, that all was said and done. It was nice, to feel the peace of simply being, and simply being together. _

Family was blood, in some ways-- not the traditional ones, but the ways that you put your own neck on the line for others, how you stuck up for them no matter what, and how the friendships and relations formed were something to treasure and cherish. The clan was his home, the Toppats his family. He’d do anything for the clan’s success, and held his own ideas of where he could take things, if he ever took the reigns. For now, life was easy-- he just needed to follow orders and keep doing his best.

_A quiet hum, running his rough, calloused hands across light scars, faded but weaving like patterns on their exposed back.  
The past had left its mark on the both of them, but they’d survived. They’d made it through, to spite everything that would’ve hoped otherwise. _

Family was only a source of pain. The sting of loss, of a life cut too short, or of betrayal, and a memory forever scorned. Terrence had made many, many mistakes-- and the weight of it all dragged him down, falling from the heights of heaven to the depths as his life once again had seemed to spiral into a predetermined path to hell. If you relied on everyone, they in turn would see you as a burden. If you relied on no one, then where could you turn to when you were in need? The clan was nothing to him, just a means to an end. He lied to himself often.

_An echo so often whispered, “Do you regret it?”, always left unanswered, as the horizons within seemed to stretch and encompass all they were.  
“Meeting you, no.” A deflection, but an honesty nonetheless. Trying to sort through all the other feelings felt too impossible a task. _

Family was… a memory. A comfort long discarded, long forgotten, long been made unreachable. He was Terrence Suave, leader of the Toppat clan, and he was going to die alone. Fate-- and his hand in guiding his own-- had made sure of it. He stared down at those who he had once called brothers, the one he’d once called a lover, and wondered if the one he truly wished to see again was doing alright. One’s own imminent demise made it all feel so small, all the little things that had come before. He wondered if it all could have been different.

* * *

  
  


_“It took so long to find you.”_

_“I didn’t want to be found.”_

_“Yet you welcomed me in all the same.”_

_“Didn’t think you’d come looking.”_

Family was warm. The comfort of togetherness, of not caring what came before, and looking forward as one towards whatever the future held. Family was laughs over burnt pancakes, the smell of candle smoke as flames were blown out at the end of the day, and the bright smiles reflected back in the mirror that once felt so far away. It was the sky after a storm, rainbow arcing across the clear blue, unmarred by clouds. It was the warmth of hot chocolate in winter, trying not to burn your tongue but still sip the marshmallows before they fully melted. It was the feeling of safety, and unconditional welcome, and the heart of knowing you could provide the same to others that needed that.

_“Henry will be awake soon, do you want to walk with him to kindergarten today?”_

_“Maybe we can all three walk together-- you know he’s been asking to.”_

_“Alright, alright.”_

_“...I love you, Randy.”_

_“Yeah? Good, love you too. Now c’mon, we’re burning daylight here.”_


End file.
